The Guardian

It’s a new day, and one worth far more than the six measures of barley he just lost during the night. It’s a new day, so he arranges a company of witnesses to set up a new contract.

There’s something about new things that always makes him just a little bit nervous, because he’s human, and humans always have the potential to taint anything that’s new – whether consciously or unconsciously, simply by association. And the potential to mess things up is much too great to be able to dismiss.

But the feeling makes him more cautious, and so he frames the offer in such a way that it sounds much more disadvantageous than it really is, so that he can buy back what most people wouldn’t want.

To others, it may seem like a bad business move, but he’s doing this out of love and to protect that love like kindling the smallest of flames. It’s worth more to him than to the world, so if he can, he’ll take the offer and run with his love, finding that place where a compromise is more of a fulfilled promise than a simple coming together and meeting in the middle.